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Academic Commons Search Resultsen-usBuilding Freedom’s Frontier in Northeast Asiahttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:180701
Lee, Christopher S.http://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8MW2FWCTue, 09 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000Following World War II, a power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States divided the world into a state of bipolarity, with the United States continuing its adherence to democracy and the Soviet Union spreading communism. In order to contain and prevent the expansion of communism, despite the uncertainty of success and South Korean President Syngman Rhee’s ineffective policies, the United States audaciously helped nation-build South Korea after the Korean War from 1954-1960. For this case study, I will use historical data and academic publications in my efforts to analyze the events that led to the United States’ decision to provide South Korea with unconditional aid to boost its postwar economy in its efforts to stave off the spread of communism in the region. I will utilize Balance of Power theory to support my argument. Moreover, I will attempt to answer the question that scholars and experts alike ceaselessly deliberate: “Why do states do what they do?” and “What causes conflict and cooperation among states?” In short, I will strive to give the readers a better understanding as to why states do what they do – in this case, the United States’ decision to nation-build South Korea against all odds.Asian studies, American history, Asian historycsl2162Political Science, East Asian Regional StudiesMaster's thesesPostwar Nostalgia and Japanese Style in the Historic Preservation and Development of Kishu An Forest of Literature in Taipei, Taiwanhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:163149
Starks, Charleshttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:21035Thu, 11 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0000This thesis examines the citizens’ movement in Taipei, Taiwan, that arose in the first decade of the 21st century to preserve, restore and reuse the Kishu An, a commercial building constructed when Taiwan was a Japanese colony in the early 20th century. The preservation movement has culminated in the creation of a literary cultural center and teahouse, called the Kishu An Forest of Literature. The preservation of the site was shaped by a coalition of diverse interests, including students, neighbors who wanted to save the site’s large trees and open space and members of the literary community which had emerged in the neighborhood after World War II. I find that while the cultural center utilizes the site’s Japanese imagery to promote tourist visits by the general public interested in the contemporary "ha ri" or “Japanophilia” phenomenon, the preservation of Japanese style also has deeper connections to the legacy of Japanese architecture in Taiwan’s postwar past. In Taiwan, Japanese buildings are remembered as humble domestic residences and as sites of educated resistance to martial law, and the Taiwan independence movement has embraced the island’s Japanese heritage as a counterweight to Guomindang control and mainland Chinese influence. Japanese architectural objects such as the Kishu An bear these meanings and have become symbols of a shared past for a population whose political orientation and national identity remain unstable.Asian studies, ArchitectureEast Asian Regional Studies, East Asian Languages and CulturesMaster's thesesThe Struggle for Literacy in Korea: An examination of literacy and the power of language in Korea, 1392-1945http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:148084
Cadavid, Franciscohttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:13567Thu, 21 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000Traditional narratives tend to break Korean history into two periods: the pre-modern and the modern. In addition, each scholar has his or her own temporal dividing line separating these two periods, whether it be a specific year, or a range of years. Regardless of differing opinions and different markers for what determines "modernity," all of these historical narratives have one thing in common: they split Korean history in two. Despite this artificial split created by many an academic work, several aspects of Korea's long history can serve as a continuous link between the pre-modern and modern periods as a way to challenge the notion of forcing the need to create a definite dividing line between two historical periods. This paper will examine one such of those aspects. I will argue that Korean history, from the ChosÇ’n period through the colonial period, has been marked by a societal struggle for literacy. In other words, literacy, at various stages in Korean history, has served as the locus of power that has manifested itself in a myriad of forms. Furthermore, I will examine literacy as a vehicle for linking such disparate members of society as Neo-Confucian literati during the Imjin War and Korean independence activists of the early 20th century.Asian studiesfjc2118East Asian Regional Studies, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Heyman Center for the Humanities, East Asian Languages and CulturesMaster's thesesThe Dynamics of China's Bio-Fuel Industry and Its Policy Optionshttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:146812
Zhao, Yiyanghttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:13193Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000The economic development of China following the changes in 1978-79 has transformed the country from a poor nation to being the second largest economy in the world. The change came about as China focused on manufacturing industry as a driver of economic growth. This has led to an increasing demand for energy and thus to a greater reliance on fossil fuels. Concerns for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming have also created a huge pressure from the world for China to reduce emissions that accompany extensive use of fossil fuels. The sustainability of the growth and the economic stability of the country faces a severe threat as available reserves of crude oil and coal in China and in the world are limited, making it highly unlikely that the country can continue to depend on these resources for its future energy needs. Because China imports more than half of its oil requirement, it needs to find viable alternatives to decrease its trust on continuing import. Biofuels appear as one such alternative and China has invested in setting up manufacturing facilities for producing bio-ethanol from cereals and cassava. However, the existing production has helped substitute only about 8% of oil requirement and 0.45% of its overall energy needs. On the other hand, diversion of grain, sugarcane, soybeans etc for biofuel production creates shortage in the supply of food leading into high prices and need to import food, sugar, and oil that will affect its trade balance negatively. This report investigates the different aspects of the crises of energy and food security that China faces, which will only become more severe in the very near future. The aim of the analysis is to make some recommendations that can help reduce the negative effects of these issues. Analysis shows that China needs to diversify its risks and take major initiatives to increase production of biofuels for this will simultaneously reduce its dependence on oil and reduce GHG emissions. In order to do so, China needs to shift focus from a manufacturing intensive economy toward horizontal and vertical growth of the agriculture sector. While this happens, it will have to use its vast positive balance of payments to import food.Energy, Economics, Asian studiesyz2396Business, East Asian Regional Studies, International and Public AffairsMaster's thesesChinese-style Privatization: From Political Taboo to Incrementalist Reformhttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:143145
Li, Zhuoqinghttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:12135Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000Beginning in 1978, China's industrial revolution has progressed for several decades. There are generally two phases of China's industrial reform: first during the 1980s, China did not privatize significant numbers of state-owned firms; secondly after the mid-1990s, China launched the second wave of industrial reforms, featuring privatization and corporatization. Especially in the realm of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) reform, after 1997's 15th Congress of the Communist Party, the "mainstream" of SOEs reform was "grasping the large, and letting the small go", namely to reorganize large SOEs to become even larger and more competitive groups, and to privatize middle and small SOEs at the time. Yet what caused the large scale privatization? Has it improved SOEs performance, and what are its negative impacts? What is the future of the policy? All remains very complicated. In this paper, I'll focus on the analysis of privatization of small and medium sized SOEs. The following sections will be organized as: section 2 will discuss problems prior to privatization and its process; section 3 will examine why China's privatization took the form it did; section 4 will evaluate the policy and the following section will point out the reason why it is insufficient or ineffective; the last section will offer some feasible policy recommendations.Asian studies, Economicszl2243East Asian Regional Studies, Economics, Weatherhead East Asian InstituteMaster's thesesInternet Facilitated Civic Engagement in China's Context: A Case Study of the Internet Event of Wenzhou High-speed Train Accidenthttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:143148
Xu, Xiaowenhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:12136Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000The Internet events in China have attracted a lot of attention in studying the impact of new communication techniques on civic engagement and development of online public sphere. By analyzing the case of the Wenzhou high-speed train accident in July, 2011, this thesis explores a broad scenario where netizens apply the Internet in different ways and for different goals, including information flow, online activism, charity, and rumor refutation. The thesis attempts to show how netizens' use of the Internet affects the state-society dynamics and their relationship with other social actors, in what way it suggests improvement in China's civil society, and why these characteristics and functions of the Internet have come into being.Asian studies, Web studiesxx2149East Asian Regional Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures (Barnard College)Master's thesesShaping Modern Japan Through Kangaku: The Case of Nishi Amanehttp://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:142132
Cooney, Owen Austinhttp://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:11876Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000Kangaku, or Chinese learning, was the cornerstone of literature, education, and intellectual thinking in Japan for over a thousand years, even up to the end of the 19th century. In just a few decades after Japan opened to the West, however, it had receded into the background as a discipline that was considered old-fashioned and archaic (although it experienced a few revivals). What role, if any, did it play in the modernization of Japan? Was kangaku merely an obstacle to modernization, or perhaps an incidental condition of the times? Many scholars have passed it over in their studies of modern Japan. I believe, however, that if we are to truly understand the transformation Japan underwent in the late 19th century, we must examine the ways in which the Meiji Period was heavily colored by Chinese modes of thought. The purpose of this paper is to show how kangaku—especially as a contributor to the Japanese language—provided an intellectual framework for absorbing the alien ideas of the West while preserving and consolidating Japan's cultural identity.Asian studiesoac2103East Asian Regional StudiesMaster's theses